Ladrons

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Individuals who unlawfully take someone else's property ; people engaged in theft or robbery ; persons who steal goods or valuables
2. Those who commit acts of stealing or burglary ; criminals involved in pilfering or looting ; offenders who unlawfully acquire possessions from others
3. People acting as thieves or robbers ; those who illegally remove possessions from others ; individuals performing acts of theft or robbery

Etymology: "Ladrons" is the plural of "ladron," the Spanish and Portuguese word for thief, so the word's history is really the history of its singular form. "Ladron" descends from Latin "latro," a robber or brigand, which came from the Greek "latron," meaning hired servant or mercenary. The Greek sense shifted from someone paid to serve toward someone who takes what is not theirs, a change that reflects how hired fighters and armed retainers were often feared as plunderers. Because "ladrons" is the plural form, it carries the same sense as the singular, applied to a group rather than one person. English has borrowed the Spanish plural in contexts such as the Ladrones, the old name for the Mariana Islands, and in that usage it preserves the plural meaning of "thieves" directly.

Synonyms: thieves, robbers, bandits, burglaries, pilferers

Antonyms: police, guards, protectors